Given what he revealed at Madison Square Garden, it seems Dana White is staring at a blank page. The plotline is available, but he’s struggling to figure out ‘where to begin.’ It’s been a few days since the UFC president formally entered the world of boxing. Representing TKO Holdings, which owns UFC and WWE, White joined hands with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh to launch a new boxing promotion.

Specific and in-depth details about the project remain scarce. Hence, speculations are rife – how’s the league going to function? What will the format or the structure be? While Alalshikh had previously mentioned that the sport is ‘broken,’ to fix the problems, Dana White suggested a ‘ground-up’ approach. TKO Boxing wants to set an example. But what’s the priority fix? Even for Dana White, perhaps it’s too early to say.

Dana White contemplates the starting point

At the UFC Fight Pass, a few reporters caught up with the UFC president. As he watched rising prospect Callum Walsh march away with an impressive win, a reporter asked, “Dana what’s the biggest thing you want to fix in boxing? What’s the biggest problem that you can fix?” The poser clearly had him thinking deep. With a smile, he reflected, “Ah, where do you begin?” Boxing has so many issues to deal with. Even for veterans, it’s an uphill task to pick any one in particular and address it first.

But Dana White seems to have a preference. It’s the frequent issue of the ‘best not fighting the best.’ He said, “Uh, probably you know the best, fighting the best…start there.” A few minutes later, pondering over the rumors that TKO will take over the upcoming mega fight between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford, Dana White clarified, “Well, listen, my model is way different. Turki has things that he’s, uh, obligated to over the next 18 months. I want to break the sport down and build it from the ground up like we did the UFC, so I’m on a different path.”

With many champions trying to maintain a spotless record, the attempt invariably results in avoiding the contemporary best, both within and without the division. Especially in recent times, it’s become a pattern. Then there’s the money part. Whether fighting ‘A’ reaps any monetary benefits. If not, then most of the time the fight gets a pass. Otherwise, fans would have already seen a Canelo Alvarez versus David Benavidez or Terence Crawford versus Jaron Ennis.

The list is extensive

Matching the UFC, the new boxing promotion may likely adopt an eight-weight-class format. The ‘Tweener’ weight classes. i.e., the ones that fall between the major weight divisions will no longer come into play.

There are many more issues. There’s inconsistent judging and refereeing. The recent Gervonta Davis–Lamont Roach Jr. fight remains a glaring example. Keeping aside the erroneous referring, the scorecards further cemented the belief that a lot needs to be fixed in the sweet science.

Since he’s just getting started, Dana White has a lot on his plate to handle. As time passes, more clarity will emerge. Then he may prioritize the area where the boxing league needs to take a lead and inspire others. After all, he’s the man who took over the UFC when it was just a step away from closure and turned it into a $12 billion behemoth.

If you could suggest, then what will be the first boxing problem Dana White should look into?